When Missions Go Awry
by Lunar Rayvenn
Summary: Nothing ever goes right when you're on a mission and the team leader decides to undermine and ignore his strategist. Neji/Shika will be there. Not much at first, but perhaps more later on.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, Lunar here. :) This is, technically, my first story. I don't like to show people what I write, I just don't, but decided I needed to get over it and post something. So I decided to start with something like this. My Best Friend wanted to help me out, and I accepted her help gratefully, so this is what we came up with.

Hope you like it.

Disclaimer- I guess I need one of these, right? Well, I don't own any of the characters... Actually, I did create three of the Anbu and my main 'Bad Guy', so I guess that makes those characters mine... Right?

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><p>Poor Shikamaru was not having a good morning. It was Saturday, and he had planned to sleep in. But fate had something else in mind. He was awoken by his mother's loud voice yelling at him. She was banging on his door.<p>

He didn't even want to see what time it was, but looked despite himself. His alarm clock read 5:04. He groaned, hoping that she would just go away. But Yoshino wasn't having it. She left for a few minutes, leading Shikamaru to think that she had finally given up. But just as he started to doze back off, he heard a jingle, a click, and his mother stormed into his room, yelling at him full force.

"Shikamaru Nara! Get up right now! The Hokage has summoned you!" She yelled at his bed side.

"But today is my day off." He mumbled into his pillow, and then sat up.

"I don't care!"

"And neither does the Hokage, apparently…."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Good, that's what I thought it was. Nothing. Now get up and get dressed, all you'll have time for is some toast…. Maybe." Then she left him.

"Troublesome woman…. Didn't even shut the door." He sighed and got up, knowing that if he procrastinated that he'd just get an earful from the Hokage.

He shut his door and got dressed in his usual attire, a long sleeved black shirt with matching pants, his Chunin vest, and the ever present green lined mesh underneath. He put on the earring studs that Asuma-Sensei had given the three members of his team as a sort of present for passing the Chunin exams.

He quickly brushed through his dark hair, which reached just slightly past his shoulders. He headed down stairs pulling his hair up into its usual style on the way down. He said hello to his mother and father, who were both already up, quickly ate his toast, took a drink of water, said good bye and left.

The streets of Konoha were mostly empty this time on Saturday. The only people out were shopkeepers setting up and a couple early risers sitting out on their porches. He reached the Hokage tower and made his way up the steps. He knocked on Lady Tsunade's door.

"Enter!" he heard from within, and he did.

He was surprised to find four other people, not including Lady Tsunade and Shizune, in the office. And not surprisingly, he felt completely outranked.

All four were Anbu.

They all turned to him at once as he walked towards the Hokage's desk, standing at attention before her. He was looking at the Hokage, but could feel their gazes on him, giving him chills like no other.

He bowed before the Hokage, "My Lady."

"Glad you could make it Shikamaru. My apologies for such short notice." He nodded, and she continued, "You are all heading out on a mission, all five of you. You will be infiltrating Iwagakure." She waited, looking at them all in turn.

"Approximately two weeks ago, a Ninja squad from Konoha went missing along the border of Kusa, the Hidden grass. We suspected The Hidden Grass at first, but they too suspected us of sending in troops on their land. Those troops were heading straight for the Earth Country. The Konoha squad they took out was delivering important documents to Suna, which were taken.

"Yesterday afternoon, a report came in from Kusa. They had had a run in with some Iwa shinobi, and they were carrying secret documents from Konoha, and Suna. Suna's were obtained and have been returned. Some got away, and our documents are still missing. It is your job to get them back. Also, you are to assassinate this man," She slid forward a photo of a middle aged man wearing an Iwa headband. He had short dark brown hair, a beard, mustache, and beady little brown eyes.

"This is Jiro Iida. His clan serves Iwa directly, they are the ones who took the documents, and he is their leader. I don't like him, and it's about time he be taken out. He has caused enough trouble for us over the years, and it's high time it stopped."

She laced her fingers together, "This is where it gets…." She looked at Shikamaru, "Troublesome." She smiled.

Shikamaru blushed lightly and looked out her window, a little embarrassed to be mocked by the Hokage in front of members of Anbu. Though he didn't know it, they were all smiling or smirking too, hidden by their porcelain masks.

"That's what you are here for, Shikamaru." He looked back at her. "Despite your young age, you are near qualified to be among my senior staff when it comes to tactician and the like. It will be your job to plan Iida's assassination, and the retrieval of the documents. It's as simple as that." She said, smiling.

Everyone except Lady Tsunade sweat dropped.

One of the Anbu, the one on the far right wearing the mask resembling a tiger, stepped forward to address the Hokage. "With all due respect, My Lady, Isn't that a bit much for him? He is only a Chunin, and can't possibly be more than fifteen?"

The Hokage sighed, "I see your reasoning in this, but that is what Hideo is here for." The Anbu looked to his left, to an Anbu wearing a mask that resembled a wolf, or dog, he couldn't figure out which, who nodded. "Shikamaru's intellect will come in handy, and Hideo's experience is there to guide him if he needs the help. Though, I doubt that he will. You have two strategists, two trackers, and one for brute force, and two of you are healers. It's the perfect team, wonderfully balanced. Shikamaru can hold his own in a fight, he'll be fine." The Anbu nodded, and stepped back.

"Okay, I said it was simple because as of yet they don't know we're coming. They're still under the impression that we suspect the Hidden grass. You will leave in thirty minutes. Nobu, you are the team leader this time around, understood?"

The one with the tiger mask nodded.

"Good, dismissed!"

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><p>So, was it any good? I know it was short, shorter than what I like to see in a chapter myself, but it's the best I could do.<p>

If you liked it, review please. :) It would make me very happy. :) Even if you didn't like it, review. I would like to know what you thought about it. :)

Pretty please?

Lunar, ^.^


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, for the record, I don't claim any of Kishimoto San's Characters, nor do I claim to have written a very exciting chapter. ;)**

**But really, you'll be introduced to some characters of my own creation, (Made on a whim because I didn't know many Anbu members) ,But that's about it.**

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><p>'<em>Man, this is such a drag.'<em> Shikamaru thought to himself. He was waiting at the village gates for the rest of the team to show up, silently fuming. _'So what if I'm only fifteen? I know what I'm doing! He doesn't know who I am or what I can do. So what if I'm not as experienced as he would like? He didn't need to bring that up in front of the entire team! That jerk! And to make matters worse, he's the team leader!'_

But to anybody who looked at him, he was the poster child for calm and collected…. Or bored….

Shikamaru sighed, he didn't like the team leader so far, but trying to hate him was too much work. He figured he could let it slide and get over it. The guy was Anbu; after all, having an ego was probably in the job description.

The other four members showed up soon after, following the team leader through the village's gates immediately. No one spoke for the rest of the day; they just kept leaping through the trees non-stop, trying to make good time.

They took the most direct route through Fire country to the Hidden Grass. Shikamaru suspected that if they kept this pace and didn't stop too much, they could make it to the Hidden Grass in four days, tops, a day and a half to get through there, and three days to Iwagakure, if they didn't run into any trouble, that is. But he suspected the Captain to allot one half day for rest, at least, before entering Earth Country. It would be stupid not to.

Nobody spoke, but that doesn't mean nobody looked…. Shikamaru could feel the gaze of one of the Anbu throughout their travels. It really started to get to him after a couple of hours through the day. They rested in a clearing at about high noon. Still, nobody spoke. They ate a small meal and then continued their conversation-less trip for the rest of the day, finally stopping in a small clearing well after dark.

Still being in fire country, they were able to have a small fire, just one large enough for warmth and small enough to not be noticed easily. It wasn't for cooking. They had eaten dry rations again earlier. Shikamaru was looking over their maps and plans they had acquired for their mission. Their route was already planned, it was the quickest and safest one, but he figured he had better go over and memorize all of the information they had for the mission early so that he can formulate a strategy as soon as possible.

The Anbu with the tiger mask, Nobu, and the Anbu with the wolf mask, Hideo, were silently arguing over something. He noticed through the corner of his eye that Hideo kept motioning toward him.

He ignored them and looked at the other two Anbu. One was no bigger than he was, probably smaller by the looks of it, and wore a mask that resembled a mouse. Dark hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that reached the waist, he could just barely see senbon needles threaded into the hair, that one was obviously a woman.

The Anbu she was speaking to was a lot taller, and broad shouldered. It was male, but he had extremely long dark brown hair that reached his waist, tied low. He sighed quietly, the other four too engrossed in their conversations to notice it. He wondered silently what they were talking about.

But truth be told, he didn't really care. He just felt so out of place among them, being ignored was only a slight inconvenience. _'Like a leopard in a lion's den.'_ He thought idly to himself. He looked back down at the papers being illuminated by the firelight, tuning the Anbu out.

"Hey."

Shikamaru looked up and saw Nobu standing over him, his mask gone. _'He's younger than I thought.'_ Shikamaru thought to himself. He couldn't be more than thirty five, tops. He stood and nodded to him, wondering what this was about.

"Shikamaru, I would like to…."

He noticed that the other three Anbu were looking on curiously, or as far as he could tell they were, they still wore their masks, but their heads were turned slightly, like animals. It was actually rather disconcerting.

"I would like to apologize to you."

Shikamaru frowned, "For what?" He asked, the perfect mask of confusion on his face. But the Anbu wasn't paying attention to Shikamaru's face; in fact, he was doing his best to avoid it. If he had looked at him for long enough, he would have noticed the expression was a fake one. But he didn't.

"Well, for calling you out like I did in front of the team and Hokage. I apologize." He bowed to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru smirked and laughed just a bit. Nobu swung and looked at him, "What?" He asked angrily.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Don't bow to me."

Nobu looked confused, "You aren't…. Upset?"

"Well, I was, but I got over it awhile ago. It's not like I can blame you or deny that what you said was the truth."

"Oh…. Okay then…."

"Shikamaru can't hold a grudge; it's too troublesome for him."

Shikamaru looked to his left and saw the other two Anbu walking his way. 'I recognize that voice….' He thought to himself as the two Anbu took off their masks.

"N-Neji?" He asked, surprised.

"I believe so," He said, smiling slightly.

"I didn't know you became Anbu…."

"Then I am doing my job right, huh?" He and the woman stood in front of him now.

"Uh, yeah…. I guess so."

The woman stuck out her hand, "Hey, kid, the name's Reiko." He shook her hand. She had bangs like Hinata's, and her eyes were a deep blue color.

"My name's Hideo, nice to meet you." He turned back to his right and saw the last Anbu there, his mask removed. He looked to be about thirty, with side burns and a beard, like Asuma….

He shook his hand.

Hideo smiled, "Well, now that we all know each other, let's get some rest. So, who's taking first watch?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Neji, you'll take first, then Shikamaru, then me, then Reiko, then last will be Hideo."

Everybody agreed on the order that they would go by for the rest of the trip without question, then bedded down, using their cloaks that they brought with them for a blanket.

Shikamaru lay there for a while, finding it difficult to fall asleep. He kept running different mission plans through his head, formulating and strategizing to the best of his abilities and with the limited resources and information that they had. He couldn't determine their success rate, and it worried him. It would help if he knew the abilities of the other members, but as of yet, he is only familiar with Neji, having spared with him on several occasions in the past and fought beside him on missions.

It doesn't help that they had no idea how many enemy shinobi there would be, either. To assassinate the Iida guy, he would need to formulate another strategy. That was where they would go first. If they were lucky, all of the scrolls would still be there. He had figured by reading the reports that the enemy shinobi were all working under Iida, they had all worn the same clothes. So it made sense that they would bring the scrolls to him.

Shikamaru sighed and let out a small yawn. His eyes slid closed, and finally he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter. :) There were only a couple, but I can dig it. ;)<strong>

**So, there you have it. I guess you don't really get to see much of their personality, but take their masks into some consideration. Like Reiko's is a mouse. :) (I love mice. :)) (Actually, hairless rats are better, and much cuter. XD)**

**Still short, but hey, it was longer than the last chap, though. Right? Even if only by a little bit. :) Anyway, review again, K? Please? :)**

**Lunar, ^.^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, this took me forever to post, didn't it? The last time I updated was 8/1/11...**

**(you don't have to read all of this, by the way.)**

**To those of you who read the first chapters as they were posted, I'm very, very, sorry. That was a long time ago... Well, it was to me, anyway.**

**I was actually planning on posting this chapter on Christmas eve, or Christmas day(as you can see, it is now 12/27/11)but that didn't happen because I got a laptop. So, for anybody who's curious out there, yes, it does take a little 'training' to get your hands used to a different keyboard. Especially a laptop, because these keys are just way too weird!(Or at least mine are, anyway...)**

**But the first planned post day was months ago! So again, I'm very, very, sorry. I just didn't know how I felt about he story, and I got so worried about it that I actually lost interest. I had no idea where to take the story.**

**Which is why I am asking that you review with truthful criticism. Just, please, review. Tell me how crappy or good this was. Because, honestly, this chapter is just about NejixShika centric. I guess my story is about the two of them, but I don't know if I find this chapter to be amusing... Or boring... I just don't know...**

**Oh! And one more thing before you read.**

**I swear, on all yaoi/shounen ai manga/anime/fan fics/original stories out there, that I wasn't trying to use big words in here. Some of them just... Came out on their own... So I would also like you tell me wether or not I sound like I'm trying to sound smart and be a show off or something, because I'm really not trying to.**

**(Although, there were actually two words in here that I had to look up. But only because I had second guessed myself a couple of times...)**

**Sorry. You know, for all the talking... Or typing... Whatever... So if you haven't already started to, you may read now... :P**

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><p>Just as he had guessed, it took them four days to traverse through The Land of Fire. Passing through the border of the Grass was quick and quiet, just how they wanted it. They weren't intruding…. Technically….<p>

The Land of Grass was in on it, they knew they were coming, but both villages had agreed that it would be best if the Grass didn't know when they were coming, how many were coming, and what the mission plan was. It was a huge risk for the Grass, but one that needed to be taken, since they were a small country on the border of the Earth country and couldn't afford, or possibly survive, a war with them. The less they knew, the easier it would be for them to convince Iwagakure that they had not known about the Leaf's mission, if they were questioned.

When in Fire country, they were recognized as Anbu, so concealing themselves wasn't a giant priority. What fool would want to take on a group of Anbu, after all? But once in the land of Grass, they weren't as easily distinguished as Anbu. They were looked upon as fair game. So after the first run in with bandits on that first night, they had all silently agreed to keep to the shadows from then on out.

Shikamaru suspected that everybody was a bit weary and agitated, but he was sure he was getting the worst of it. He could still feel those eyes watching his back, even now, running through the trees, almost at the border of Iwagakure.

He had convinced himself that he was just being paranoid, that he was imagining things... Until he had finally caught the culprit.

Just over ten minutes ago, he had glanced behind him and saw the Anbu jerk his head away at the last moment. Neji was watching him. He tried to convince himself that he was wrong, but when Nobu called back for Neji to come to the front and speak with him, the feeling had strangely vanished. He relaxed, no longer feeling the eyes to his back.

Later that night, they made camp. The usual order was followed, eating a silent meal, Shikamaru going over more and more strategies in his head, all the while thinking that the Anbu were completely worthless, as they all stood around doing nothing but talking.

He glanced up when he heard footsteps coming his way. Looking up, he saw all four of the Anbu coming towards him. Being in enemy territory, they didn't remove their masks often, only to eat. The sight of them silently coming towards him, the light from the fire glinting off of their masks, gave Shikamaru a chill. When they reached him, though, they had enough decency to remove the masks, probably realizing the effect they had, and they all silently sat in front of him.

Nobu was the one to start the conversation, "We should go over any possible ideas of strategy that you may have before we get too far into the territory." Shikamaru nodded, seeing the logic in the idea. "So, have you come up with anything yet?"

"Yeah." He could tell that the guy still doubted his abilities as a strategist, despite his earlier apology. He thought briefly about what he would say, but then he decided that he didn't want to go out of his way to impress the guy, so continued with the simpler explanation, " Really, it all depends on how you want to go about it."

Reiko tilted her head slightly, "What do you mean?" Shikamaru looked at her, not bothered by the interruption.

"There are different options for the retrieval and assassination. We could be brutal, subtle, covert, or any number of other possibilities."

"What would you say if I told you we want to subtle and covert in the retrieval, about halfway there on the assassination, but still cause significant damage to their troops, with the

least fatality rate to us possible?"

Hideo raised an eyebrow at him, "Nobu, don't you think that's a bit much? One can only do so much with our limited information."

Shikamaru sighed, he wrung his hands together absently, "Actually, Hideo, it's not as hard as you may think." All four Anbu looked to him for an explanation.

"Shikamaru," Hideo tried to reason with him, "Tsunade had praised your skill, and I understand that you're supposed to be good, but with such limited information? And you don't look too confident about it working, you look more nervous than anything."

"Of course I'm nervous, I'd be stupid not to be. But it's not about the plan in general; I just don't like all of the variables. I eliminated as many as possible, but there's still plenty left in each of my strategies."

"Each? How many do you have to choose from?" Reiko looked surprised.

"Well, I'd say around…. Thirty fool proof ones. But when I narrow it down to the safest and most efficient... I'd say we have seven or eight to choose from, depending on what you want."

"Wait, how did you-?"

"Nobu, you'd be surprised at what Shikamaru can do." Neji interrupted.

"I take it you two know each other well?"

Shikamaru looked at Neji, "You could say that…. But we're getting off topic. And don't be too impressed. I've had just about a week to come up with all of those."

"Shikamaru's right, Nobu, Neji. Please, continue." Surprisingly, Reiko got everybody else to shut up and listen.

"Well," Shikamaru continued, "If my calculations are correct, the Shinobi containing the stolen scrolls should be with Iida. It's about three days from here to get to Iwagakure, but Iida's hideout is somewhere in this region," he indicated a small section on the map, "That is

only a day and half away, tops. If we get there fast enough, we may be able to catch the scrolls before they even reach Iwa. Even if they were smart enough to separate the scrolls and keep them away from each other, this way is the most efficient."

We don't know how large or where exactly his hideout is located, and we don't know the layout of the land or of the hideout. Those are variables that I don't like, but can't fix, so we'll have to deal. And considering the members of our team, it should be fine once we find the hideout."

"Should be?" Shikamaru couldn't help but think that Nobu was just itching to call him out on something, anything he could find bad about his plan, but he ignored the intention of the question and answered.

"Yes. I don't know any of your abilities, except a few of Neji's. But Lady Tsunade said that two of you were trackers. That would be Neji, and I am guessing Hideo?" Hideo nodded. "So finding the hide out shouldn't be a problem. She said one with brute force, so I'm going to guess Reiko, and we also have you for more experience. The ones trained in the medical field would be….?"

"Reiko and I." Hideo said, "We only know a bit of the medical field though, enough for first aid, sickness, or mild contortions or lacerations, just stuff like that. We've only had minimal training."

Shikamaru nodded, expecting as much. He would have been shocked if it had been Nobu.

Neji had been a possibility, since he was related to Hinata so she may have taught him something, but Shikamaru hadn't ever thought of him as the medical type anyway. "That'll work. So as long as we can find this hideout of Iida's quickly, we may get off easy."

"What about the enemy at the hide out? We don't know how many there are, what rank they are, or any of their abilities. So how, prey tell, do you expect us to get off easy?"

The other three Anbu displayed their own versions of disappointed expressions towards Nobu. They all understood that Nobu was trying to undermine Shikamaru, and none of them liked it.

"Actually, Nobu, Iida is supposed to only have Chunin and lower ranking jonin on staff at the hide out. Of course, we can't trust any of our information fully without seeing proof, but it's the best we have. And security and navigation shouldn't be a problem if Iida isn't expecting a Hyuga to be coming his way." He looked to Neji, who nodded.

"I suppose you're right, but there's still-."

"Fuck, Nobu! Leave the kid alone! Now you're just trying to undermine him! Would at least try to act your fucking age!"

Everybody looked at Nobu, then Reiko, then back at Nobu. Hideo laughed nervously, "Okay, I think it's time for bed, everybody."

They nodded and stood, going to wherever they felt was the most comfortable place they could find, Nobu and Reiko throwing disgruntled looks towards each other the entire way.

They all choose spots away from the fire, and each other, for more reasons than one, out in the shadows. Shikamaru would douse the fire once all of the papers and document were stored.

"You don't have to help, you know." Shikamaru said when Neji stayed and started to stack and fold papers, crouched down across from him.

"I want to." He said simply.

"Why?" It wasn't like he didn't like Neji, quite the contrary, actually. For the past year or so, he had found himself drawn to the other man. If for no other reason, than because the Hyuga had been so unusually secretive, and it had interested him.

After a long pause, Neji finally answered, "I thought you could use the company. You must feel pretty out of place here, surrounded by Anbu." 'No kidding,' Shikamaru thought to himself, but he didn't voice this thought.

"Not really." He lied, his voice sounding bored.

Neji smirked, "I'm not an easy person to lie to Shikamaru-kun."

Shikamaru sighed and scowled lightly at the Hyuga, "What do you want, Neji?"

"I told you, I thought you could use the company." He said dismissively.

"Whatever. I have had enough of your company today, thank you." He said curtly.

"What do you mean, Shikamaru-kun?" he teased.

"You were watching me the entire trip! You really creep me out, you know? And stop calling me that!" He snapped.

"So what, it was something to look at, instead of watching the dull greens of the forest. It was a nice view, by the way. Besides, Shikamaru-kun, what's so wrong about it?" he replied with a smirk, unfazed by Shikamaru's outburst.

"If you're going to use a honorific, use the right one, Neji." He said, bringing his attention back to the papers.

"I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am." he mocked, "You are younger than me, therefore, it is appropriate."

Shikamaru sighed, exasperated, "Are you really going to make me, a Nara, school you, a Hyuga, on the proper way to use a honorific? You're still supposed to be close to the person, Neji. We aren't." he said, frustrated.

"But you want to be." Neji muttered under his breath, continuing to stack and fold, that small smirk still in place.

Shikamaru looked up at him, scowling again, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means."

"If I knew what it meant, then I wouldn't have asked you."

Neji raised an eyebrow at him, "If you didn't know what I meant you wouldn't be lashing out like you are, so because you are lashing out, you do know what I mean and are just denying

it, though, you've been denying it for quite some time now, I believe."

Shikamaru opened his mouth, then closed it again, unsure of what to say, "What?"

"You've been denying that you like me, confirmed by that blush you now wear."

"Shut up, Hyuga. I'm blushing because you said I was a 'Nice view'." He growled out.

"Why?"

"Why what?" he asked, frustrated.

"Why do you deny it? Do you find it that horrible to like another man?"

"N-No! Of course not!"

"What is it then? Is there someone else that you like?"

"No! Why would I-?"

"So you do like me then?"

"Yes! But-!" he saw Neji smirk and immediately clamped his mouth shut, regretting letting the arrogant, overconfident Hyuga get to him.

Neji dropped the stack of papers he was holding and reached out, grabbing the back of Shikamaru's neck. He could pull away at any moment, whenever he felt like it. Neji's hand on his neck was gentle, not restricting at all. But he didn't. He let Neji come closer.

Neji gently touched their lips together in a soft kiss, moving his own lips sensually. It took a few moments, but Shikamaru hesitantly kissed him back. They kept that slow pace for the rest of eternity... Or at least it felt that way to Shikamaru.

"Neji," he whispered, trying to talk around his kisses. "We shouldn't-" he gasped as Neji took the opportunity to slide his tongue into Shikamaru's mouth. There was a breif moment where they both fought for dominance over the kiss, but Shikamaru didn't feel like quarreling and gave up easily to Neji.

He gripped Neji's shoulder tightly, matching his rhythm. He wrapped his other arm around his neck as Neji slowly eased them back to the ground. The hand that was once on the back of Shikamaru's neck was now rubbing slow circles on his hip.

His eyes had been closed, but they snapped open upon hearing what had to be Hideo mumbling in his sleep. He turned his face away from Neji, put his arm between them and pushed against his chest. "Back off, Neji." He whispered, trying to keep his voice low. He knew that it was unlikely the others would wake up, but they had been rather loud earlier, when they had argued, so he didn't want to push his luck.

Neji backed away from him, letting Shikamaru right himself. "What's wrong?" He had also heard Hideo mumbling, but unlike Shikamaru, knew that he was awake. Anbu were trained not to talk in their sleep. But he also knew Hideo to be rather dismissive, and knew that the man wouldn't suspect he and Shikamaru were doing anything inappropriate.

"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?" he hissed, "Neji, we're in the middle of an S-class mission! You're neglecting your guard duties! And I'm distracting you from them…." He pushed Neji off of him and rolled to the side. Sitting up, he collected all of the folded and stacked papers, slipped them into the satchel, and stood.

"Shikamaru, it's-."

"Leave me alone, Neji." He said, walking away, hoping that the other hadn't seen the red staining his cheeks.

"I'm not giving up, Shika." He heard Neji mumble under his breath.

"Yeah, whatever." Shikamaru whispered just loud enough for him to hear. But he couldn't help but feel just a little bit hopeful that Neji truly wasn't giving up on him... Then scolded himself for thinking such things.

Luckily, Neji gave him some space for the rest of the night and didn't try anything when he woke Shikamaru up for his shift. If he had, Shikamaru wasn't positive that he could have pulled away for a second time….

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><p><strong> Is it just me, or all of the lines and paragraphs spaced out really weirdly...? <strong>

**Oh well, that's what I get for using Google Docs... I had to transfer and re-space this entire thing three times. Isn't that just stupid?**

**(It's 4:16, by the way...A.M...)**

**But seriously, like I said at the top, please review. I started to use this weird made up method of mind on Google Docs to edit this, so I want to know if my method had any good affects. And just because I want to tell you...:**

**I would read through a paragraph once, and highlight it a color. Light purplish pink if I liked it, a dull red if I thought it could use some work, and bright red if I wanted to get rid of it completely or completely change it. I only used the bright red if I couldn't fix it on the spot, or if it was a bigger paragraph. But then, I went back through and fixed stuff. If it was the light color though, I refused to look at it. I had to force myself to not re-read them, because I tend to second guess myself more than I probably should allow, so that's why I okayed those beforehand. Then I fixed the dull color. And eventually, got to the bright red color.**

**I think that it worked out well for me, and for the chapter, but that's all up to you, really.**

**So review please,**

**Lunar. (I signed my stuff on Fiction Press like this, it's kind of a habit now...)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I actually cut this chapter in half before posting it, hope it doesn't seem too short.**

**But I was looking at my other chapters, and realized that chap one and two were around the same length, but chap three was at least twice their size and dwarfed them,(or at least that's what it looks like to me.), so I cut this one in half. Because I really like my first couple of chapters, and I din't wan to make them look super duper small.**

**Well, with that said, on with it then!**

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><p>Shikamaru sat concealed high in a tree outside of Iida's hideout. Neji's Byakugan was activated and he was continuously scanned building to report the sighting of any enemy shinobi. The complex didn't look like much from up top, but Neji had informed Shikamaru that there were also rooms underground.<p>

Neji had located the room containing the scrolls almost immediately, Hideo was on his way there now, with Nobu taking care of any patrolling shinobi that got too close to Hideo's path. So far, there had only been a couple, and they were both barely Chuunin level.

Reiko was currently crawling through the complex's ventilation system, receiving directions from Neji as well. While the others were to locate and retrieve the scrolls, Reiko was going to keep a close eye on Jiro Iida, so Neji could focus more on the other Shinobi patrolling the complex. Once they had possession of the scrolls, they would take out Iida.

Neji tapped Shikamaru's shoulder, getting his attention, "Reiko's in position." Shikamaru nodded.

He flipped his intercom piece to Reiko's frequency, "Hold your position. Keep quiet and listen. Do you have visual on the room?"

"_Yep." _Her voice came out grainy and unnatural sounding.

"Good. Inform me of any changes, and I mean everything, understood?" he knew she didn't need any reminding at all, but after so many years working with idiots like Naruto, Kiba, and even Ino, it could hardly be said to be his own fault for falling into the habit.

"_Roger, that."_

He switched the frequency back to an open line and turned to Neji, "There's no need to watch her anymore. Pay attention to the others. Do you think you could figure out the Shinobi's chakra level?"

Neji nodded, "Of course." He channeled his chakra and focused his byakugan in the others direction.

Shikamaru watched him concentrating, lilac eyes darting this way and that, and he wondered briefly what I would be like to have those eyes. The thought of being able to see so far and so clearly was an odd one, as he already had near perfect vision. But it was only for a moment. Shikamaru was quite happy with his shadow possession jutsu, and wouldn't want to trade it for anything.

"Shikamaru," he looked over at Neji, "Hideo took out the two jounin guarding the door, but it's sealed. He says it a lock that requires a code. Any suggestions?"

Shikamaru sighed, standing and stretching his muscles. "Just one." He said.

He jumped down from his cover in the trees, he ran down the slight slope to the large complex below. He had heard the directions given to Hideo by Neji, so he knew where to go. Inside the building the halls were clear thanks to Nobu, so he didn't have to sneak as much as Hideo had and made excellent time reaching the door.

"What have we got?" He asked when Hideo slipped from the cover of the shadows.

"It seems like a code is needed. Nothing too complicated, but beyond my area of expertise, anyway."

"Alright, give me a minute." Shikamaru set to work on the lock, having Hideo keep watch for any more guards. Barely thirty seconds passed before the lock on the door opened with a satisfying beep. "Come on." He said, and they both snuck into the room.

"How did you know that there were no traps?" Hideo asked, thinking that Shikamaru had to have somehow checked for them before hand, maybe with the Hyuga's byakugan. But he was rather disappointed to hear Shikamaru's answer.

"If there were any traps, they would have gone off by now."

"But, if they would have gone off, what would have….?"

"What would I have done? We would have taken what we could get our hands on and run. It was a fifty/fifty chance." He smiled at Hideo's wide eyed and incredulous expression, "That, and I had Neji scan the room."

Hideo shook his head, "Seriously, kid, I thought you were crazy."

"Come on, let's hurry up and get the scrolls."

"Right."

It didn't take them any time at all to find the scrolls. Shikamaru had expected them to be hidden away somewhere, but found them in the very first shelf he opened. They were just sitting there, the Hokage's seal glaring up at him, enticing him, practically begging him to reach down and deliver them back home to where they belonged.

It was tempting, oh so tempting, too tempting. He glared at the inanimate scrolls as if they had just cheated him on his own shoji board.

"You know, you might hurt their feelings with that glare of yours." Hideo joked. He reached down to take hold of one of the six scrolls, but Shikamaru's hand stopped him. "What is it?"

"Too easy."

"I know what you mean, but this guy may not have been expecting four Anbu and you to show up. You especially."

"I'm flattered, but seriously. The ninja taken out by Nobu, I saw them go down like it was nothing for Nobu."

"He's Anbu."

"Yeah, and the guys he took out couldn't have been much stronger than me, at best." He said frustratingly.

"You're not getting sentimental on us, are you?"

"No, don't you get it? The shinobi of this clan, they don't put ninja that weak on patrol. It seems like a lackeys job, but it's not. The guys Nobu took out went down too easily. Way too easily."

"What are you saying? It couldn't be…. No, there's no way they could have…."

"It has to be a trap; it's the only explanation for this. As for the scrolls…."

"Are they fakes?"

"No, they just don't expect us to make it out. I doubt they even expected us to find this room and get in it so quickly."

Meanwhile, Reiko was still keeping an eye on Iida in the room. Her whispered voice came through the intercom, _"Shikamaru, the servants have left the room, should I attack?"_

"No! Retreat, now." He said, hoping that she had the sense to listen to him.

"_What? He's not even carrying a weapon; I can take him out now."_ As reasonably as she sounded, she was just dying to pounce in there and take the man's life, eager to quickly finish this mission and return home to her warm bed.

"No, it's a trap; get out of there now, Reiko!"

"_If you say-."_

Nobu's voice came over the intercom, _"Shikamaru, let her attack. You got us into the building and you've found the scrolls, now let us do our job."_

Neji then joined the conversation, sounding rushed and agitated. _"Shikamaru, you need to get everyone out of there, there are more shinobi dispersing across the building. Their chakra levels are immense, all high leveled shinobi."_

"I hear you, Neji. You heard him too, Nobu-."

A loud screeching whine cut him off. An alarm. Shikamaru turned around to look at Hideo, who shook his head. He hadn't touched the scrolls.

"Shit," He muttered, "Nobu, Reiko, Neji, retreat." He said into his earset. "Hideo, the scrolls."

Hideo removed the parchment satchel from his back and he and Shikamaru quickly placed the six scrolls within the bag. Hideo replaced the bag on his back, and he and Shikamaru ran out of the room. They quickly wove their way through the building, trying to find their way out while avoiding the enemy shinobi. They couldn't chance damaging the scrolls.

"Reiko?"

"_On my way out now."_

Nobu yelled through his set, _"No! As the leader of this mission, I order you to complete your task and assassinate the target! Now!"_

"Nobu, don't be stupid!" Shikamaru said, not caring about the man's senior rank. "It's a trap!"

Hideo switchd on his ear set. "He's right, Nobu. Don't send her in."

"_Enough, Hideo. I am the leader of this mission. Reiko, attack."_

There was a sigh on the other line, then, _"Sorry, Shika-kun, but I can't disobey a direct order."_

"Damn it! Neji, where are you?" Shikamaru asked worriedly. He hadn't heard from him in a while.

"_Engaged…. Right now…."_ Came the choppy reply.

Shikamaru cursed to himself, "Do you need assistance?"

"_No, it's only one, but-!"_

Shikamaru heard a grunt, and then nothing. "Neji! Neji, but what?"

The voice on the other line was less strained when he answered, he must have finished his battle. _"But there is a large number of shinobi headed your way. I'm outside now. Nobu is with me. Reiko won't answer."_

"Got it, where is she?"

"_Still there, engaged in battle. But more are heading her way too. You were right, Shikamaru, that's not the target, it was a ruse. Should I go assist?"_

"No, stay there and make sure Nobu doesn't do anything stupid." He knew it probably wasn't a very smart career choice to call a senior officer stupid and imply that he made stupid decisions, but in a situation like this, it was best to stick to the facts.

"_Right, what are you doing?"_

"I'm going to assist." He said, as if it were obvious.

"_Shikamaru, she's Anbu. You are only a Chunin. You won't be much help. Let me go and-."_

"No, I'll go. It was my strategy that botched, not yours; I'll help her in any way possible. Besides, if anything does happen, all of you will be needed to protect the scrolls."

"I'll help too."

"Hideo, you have to get out with the scrolls."

"Then you take the scrolls, I'll help Reiko."

"You know I can't do that. You have a better chance at getting out of here-." They rounded a corner and ran into a single shinobi. Hideo leaped over Shikamaru and onto the offending shinobi. He slit his throat on his descent, and landed rather like Kiba, just with more grace then the Inuzuka could ever muster. "….alive." Shikamaru finished.

Hideo huffed, standing up, "Fine, but you had better be careful."

"Neji, where are we going?"

"_Shikamaru, this isn't a good idea."_

"I know that. So, where are we going?"

Neji sighed into the intercom, "Hideo, you continue forward. Two halls down take a right, then a left, and forward on out. Shikamaru you need to go back one hall, three halls down then take a left, it's the large double doors, the only ones there."

"Got it." They both said.

"_Shikamaru?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Be careful."_ He said seriously.

Shikamaru smirked, "Aren't I always?"

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><p><strong>Yeah, a whole lot of talking, huh? Lol. :P<strong>

**But I would really appreciate it if you reviewed it and told me what you think. Honestly, I'm not too sure about this chapter. There was supposed to be some action, but like I said, I had cut it in half to make it shorter, and I figured I should probably squeeze out another chap.**

**Oh, and sorry for all the random nonsense I wrote about in the last chap. I was just really in a talking mood, lol. (Or should I say typing mood...?)**

**But anyway, review please!**

**Lunar, ^.^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so... As you can see, I deleted my long a** 'Authors Note/Excuse' and have now replaced it with an actual 'chapter'.**

**And yes, I know I'm a BI*CH for taking so long to put this up...**

**This 'chapter' has not been edited how I like my other ones to be,(I didn't read through it as many times...) so there may still be many mistakes and/or confusing situations that contradict each other. If so, then PLEASE let me know and I will fix them as soon as possible.**

...

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><p>Neji shook his head, smiling. He wanted to go help Shikamaru and Reiko, Shikamaru specifically. But luckily enough for Neji, Nobu didn't try to pull any supremely dangerous stunts. Though if it were to help Shikamaru, Neji thought that he may have gone along with it. Maybe<p>

Hideo encountered little trouble, other than a few solo guards, on his way out. All of the scrolls were still intact.

Shikamaru followed Neji's instructions. Once in the hall, he saw the doors, and could hear the battle going on behind them. He pushed the heavy sliding doors aside as quietly as possible.

Inside, Reiko was having a much harder time then the others had. The 'target' was actually a much younger man with a striking resemblance to the leader of the clan. To be able to fool a Hyuga's byakugan, his chakra must be extremely similar to the man's as well, _'Probably blood related.'_ Shikamaru thought. _'Or a jutsu of some sort.'_

He had a few minor cuts on his body, was breathing heavily, and what looked like scratch marks on his face. So either Reiko was lucky enough to get close to him, or he was a close range fighter. His answer was given to him when he ran in close to her and pulled out a double edged sword from a scabbard on his back. There was another sword laying on the ground a few feet away, broken in half and useless.

Reiko drew her own sword and engaged the man. She was faring much worse. She also had minor cuts and bruises along her body, and a long bloody cut on the right side of her Anbu vest. Her movements were slower than they should be for any Anbu, her breaths coming in gasps.

Nobody had noticed Shikamaru enter the room, but he could hear the footsteps of a group of shinobi getting closer and closer to his position. He decided that if he were to act, he needed to act now.

He formed several hand seals, and his shadow sprung to life. Now, they noticed Shikamaru crouched in the doorway. Reiko, being Anbu, didn't hesitate or get distracted by his presence. She only pushed her opponent harder. He, on the other hand, was very distracted. Now he had to hold off Reiko and avoid Shikamaru's shadow all at once, and the strain was quite clear. The ninja jumped back from Reiko, putting distance between them.

But Reiko didn't stop attacking. She quickly ran her free hand through her hair, somewhat puzzling Shikamaru. Why would she pay attention to her hair in the middle of a battle? He figured out why when her arm shot forward, and the enemy shinobi was struck in three different places with long senbon needles, his shoulders and one just below his neck.

He quickly pulled the painful senbon needles from his body, apparently Reiko had missed her targets. He then jumped to avoid Shikamaru's shadow. Shikamaru performed another set of hand seals and his shadow leapt off the ground and split into multiple sections. His shadow stitch technique kept the shinobi busy and away from Reiko, giving her time to catch her breath.

The guy was good, he was fast and near impossible to catch. But Shikamaru had planned for situations like this, and knew that he could get him if he had the time. But time, he did not have. He heard the group of Shinobi coming down the hall, felt, rather than saw, the kunai coming at him. He had to break the jutsu and jump out of the way to avoid it.

He went immediately after Shikamaru, swinging his sword violently. Shikamaru dodged a pulled a kunai, blocking the sword on its second strike. But it immediately came back in an unexpected upwards strike and sliced his leg, drawing blood. It cut deep, and Shikamaru stumbled backwards. He went to strike again, but was knocked to the side by Reiko; a round house kick to the head was never a good thing, especially not by an Anbu woman described as pure power by her Hokage. He stumbled away from Shikamaru, dazed.

Reiko flipped backwards, out of his reach, she was still too worn out to take him head on, just that seemed too much for her, and Shikamaru suspected that wound on her chest was deeper than it looked. Without Shikamaru's shadow to distract him, the man shook off the dazed feeling quickly and he lunged for Reiko, sword in hand.

She saw it coming, but didn't have time to dodge. His sword swung in a downward arc, her sword came up to halt it in its progress. But he possessed more energy then she and his sword pushed hers back and connected. It chipped the bottom of her Anbu mask, cut through the upper left of her vest, and continued down, forcing her sword with it, down to her waist.

She cried out once, and then dropped with the speed only a woman of her size could do. She swung her leg around, kicked his feet out from under him, and he fell backwards. She pounced, cat like reflexes kicking in, even with her injury. In his stumble he misjudged the timing and swung wildly, far too early, and she ducked under the strike. Her sword connected.

But the fall had him turning at an awkward angle and her sword missed its target, his heart. It pierced his left shoulder instead. But Shikamaru's shadow stitch was waiting for him on his way down. Several shadows were waiting behind the falling man, poised and ready to kill. His weight drove them home. One pierced his heart. Reiko jumped back as the shadows pierced his back and chest, coming all the way through, she was holding her side.

The group of shinobi was seconds too late to save their leaders half brother, but they quickly spotted the young shinobi who was the clear controller of the shadow technique. They saw that he was tired, maybe not from using his shadows but perhaps from the bleeding wound to his leg. There was blood pooling under him, obviously their comrade had landed a heavy blow to the leg.  
>They moved in quickly and the six of them, all high ranking shinobi, rushed Shikamaru. They saw the Anbu, bent at her waist and panting, and could tell that she was in no condition to fight.<p>

Reiko saw them come in first. "Behind you!" She yelled to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru turned, but his leg slowed him. He was just able to bring up his kunai to block another. The weight of the shinobi brought them both down. He pushed with his kunai, and Shikamaru pushed back.

"Go! You know the way out!" he yelled to Reiko.

"You think I could leave a Chunin behind in good conscience?!" She yelled.

"Just go! Don't be stupid!" He could feel his hand being pushed back, closer to his waiting neck.

Neji, listening in on the fight, yelled through the intercom, "Shikamaru don't be stupid, they'll kill you or worse!"

"Why lose two and not one? Get out Reiko! Get the scrolls to lady Tsunade!"

Shikamaru kicked up with his uninjured leg and the man on top of him fell to the side, clutching his lower region. Two more came at him as he stood shakily. They attacked with long bladed kunai, knocking Shikamaru's from his hand almost too easily, and slammed him into the wall, pinning his shoulders and arms.

Three more went after Reiko, but she jumped up and over to avoid them. She couldn't possibly fend them all off, and she knew it. Anbu were strong, but they weren't invincible.

One of the shinobi holding Shikamaru pulled a kunai and held it to his neck. Reiko could hear more footsteps now, storming down the halls. She cursed herself for not finishing off the false target sooner. She cursed herself for listening to that idiot Nobu. She cursed herself for using too much chakra, and for making any advanced techniques too far out of her reach, when she needed them most.

She locked eyes with Shikamaru, caught in a desperate situation of his own. He nodded as best he could before the kunai was pressed harder against his neck. A silent signal to leave. She gave him a pained expression, but quickly her expression turned hard. By the looks of things, they wouldn't kill him, not yet. They would probably keep him for questioning.

The three shinobi came after her from behind again. She jumped to the ceiling, what little chakra she had left keeping her there. She pulled a kunai and deflected the few thrown at her.

She knew they would keep him alive, what they would do to him and how long the chunin would last was a gamble she didn't want to take, but knew she had to. She locked eyes with him again. Her face was nearly expressionless, but for the look in her eyes. She nodded, and then slipped into the ceiling, making her escape.

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><p><strong>This site shows me I spelled like, every other word wrong for some reason, mostly shinobi-kunai-chakra-Shikamaru, among others.<strong>

**Oh, and I know I totally sucked up that fight scene. But please be aware that it was only one of my first of not so many, and that it totally sucked some giant dirty monkey balls from the stone ages when I first wrote it. It has since been upgraded to medium sized, slightly dirty monkey balls from the 1800's. So see? There was a bit of improvement! ^_^**

**Anyways, I'd like you to comment, pretty please? I know I probably don't deserve it, but I really want to know how many people are actually still reading this.**

**I'll update whenever I can next, so i'm not holding you to ransom for comments or anything, but just a simple one or two worded comment would be nice. Heck, it doesn't even have to be a good comment, just tell me off if you want to. Seriously, I probably deserve some flames for my crappy uploading skills right now. (I just don't like flames about stories being yaoi or something of the sort, those piss me off, and I will reply in kind, no **stars** attached.)**

**Lunar.**


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